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Hunger stole upon me so slowly that at first I

was not aware of what hunger really meant. Hunger had always been more or less at my
elbow when I played, but now I began to wake up at night to find hunger standing at my
bedside, staring at me gauntly. The hunger I had known before this had been no grim,
hostile stranger; it had been a normal hunger that had made me beg constantly for
bread, and when I ate a crust or two I was satisfied. But this new hunger baffled me,
scared me, made me angry and insistent. Whenever I begged for food now, my mother
would pour me a cup of tea, which would still the clamor in my stomach for a moment or
two; but a little later I would feel hunger nudging my ribs, twisting my empty guts until
they ached. I would grow dizzy and my vision would dim. I became less active in my
play, and for the first time in my life I had to pause and think of what was happening to
me.
Mama, Im hungry, I complained one afternoon.
Jump up and catch a kungry, she said, trying to make me laugh and forget.
Whats a kungry?
Its what little boys eat when they get hungry, she said.
What does it taste like?
I dont know.
Then why do you tell me to catch one?
Because you said that you were hungry, she said smiling.
I sensed that she was teasing me and it made me angry.
But I am hungry. I want to eat.
Youll have to wait.
But I want to eat now.
But there is nothing to eat, she told me
Why?
Just because theres none, she explained.
Excerpt from Black Boy
Richard Wright


How does Wright make the
hunger so memorable and real?
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But I want to eat, I said beginning to cry.
Youll just have to wait, she said again.
But why?
For God to send some food.
when its He going to send it?
I dont know.
But Im hungry!
She was ironing and she paused and looked at me with tears in her eyes.
Wheres your father? she asked me.
I stared in bewilderment. Yes, it was true that my father had not come home to
sleep for many days now and I could make as much noise as I wanted. Though I had not
known why he was absent, I had been glad that he was not there to shout his restrictions
at me. But it never had occurred to me that his absence would mean that there would be
no food.
I dont know, I said.
Who brings food into the house? My mother asked me.
Papa, I said. He always brought food.
Well your father isnt here now, she said.
Where is he?
I dont know, she said.
But Im hungry, I whimpered, stomping my feet.
Youll have to wait until I get a job and buy food, she said.
As the days slid past, the image of my father became associated with the pangs
of hunger and whenever I felt hunger, I thought of him with a deep biological bitterness.
My mother finally went to work as a cook and left me and my brother alone in
the flat each day with a loaf of bread and a pot of tea. When she returned at evening, she
would be tired and dispirited and would cry a lot. Sometimes, when she was in despair,
she would call us to her and talk to us for hours, telling us that we now had no father,
that our lives would be different from those of other children, that we must learn as soon
Why do you think Wrights
mother asks him about his
father?




What might her state of
mind be at this time?
3

as possible to take care of ourselves, to dress ourselves, to prepare our own food, that we
must take upon ourselves the responsibility of the flat while she worked. Half frightened,
we would promise solemnly. We did not understand what had happened between our
father and our mother, and the most of these long talks did to us was to make us feel a
vague dread. Whenever we asked why father had left, she would tell us that we were too
young to know.
One evening my mother told me that thereafter I would have to do the shopping
for food. She took me to the corner store to show me the way. I was proud; I felt like a
grown-up. The next afternoon I looped the basket over my arm and went down the
pavement toward the store. When I reached the corner, a gang of boys grabbed me,
knocked me down, snatched the basket, took the money, and sent me running home in
panic. That evening I told my mother what had happened, but she made no comment;
she sat down at once, wrote another note, gave me more money, and sent me out to the
grocery again. I crept down the steps and saw the same gang of boys playing down the
street. I ran back into the house.
Whats the matter? my mother asked.
Its those same boys, I said. Theyll beat me.
Youve got to get over that, she said. Now go on.
Im scared, I said.
Go on and dont pay any attention to them, she said.
I went out of the door and walked briskly down the sidewalk, praying that the
gang would not molest me. But when I came abreast of them, someone shouted.
There he is!
They came toward me and I broke into a wild run toward homes. They overtook
me and flung me to the pavement. I yelled, pleases, kicked, but they wrenched the
money out of my hand. They yanked me to my feet, gave me a few slaps, and sent me
home sobbing. My mother met me at the door.
They B-beat m-me, I gasped. They t-t-took the m-money.
I started up the steps, seeking the shelter of the house.
Dont you come in here, my mother warned me.
I froze in my tracks and stared at her.
But theyre coming after me, I said.
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You just stay right where you are, she said in a deadly tone. Im going to teach
you this night to stand up for yourself.
She went into the house and I waited, terrified, wondering she was about.
Presently she returned with more money and another note; she also had a long heavy
stick.
Take this money, this note, and this stick, she said. Go to the store and buy
those groceries. If those boys bother you, then fight.
I was baffled. My mother was telling me to fight, a thing that she had never done
before.
But Im scared. I said.
Dont you come into this house until youve gotten those groceries, she said.
Theyll beat me. Theyll beat me, I said.
Then stay in the streets; dont come back here!
I ran up the steps and tried to force my way past her into the house. A stinging
slap came on my jaw. I stood on the sidewalk, crying.
Please let me wait until tomorrow, I begged.
No, she said. Go now! If you come back into this house without those
groceries, Ill whip you!
She slammed the door and I heard the key turn in the lock. I shook with fright. I
was alone upon the dark, hostile streets and gangs were after me. I had the choice of
being beaten at home or away from home. I clutched the stick, crying, trying to reason. If
I were beaten at home, there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it; but if I were
beaten in the streets, I had a chance to fight and defend myself.. I walked slowly down
the sidewalk, coming closer to the gang of boys, holding the stick tightly. I was so full of
fear that I could scarcely breathe. I was almost upon them now.
There he is again! the cry went up.
They surrounded me quickly and began to grab for my hand.
Ill kill you! I threatened.
They closed in. In blind fear I let the stick fly, feeling it crack against a boys
skull. I swung again, lamming another skull, then another. Realizing that they would
retaliate if I let up for but a second, I fought to lay them low, to knock them cold, to kill
Why is the mother willing to
risk losing the money rather
than go to the store herself?
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them so they could not strike back at me. I flayed with tears in my eyes, teeth clenched,
stark fear making me through every ounce of my strength behind each blow. I hit again
and again, dropping the money and the grocery list. The boys scattered, yelling, nursing
their heads, staring at me in disbelief. They had never seen such frenzy. I stood panting,
egging them on, taunting tem to come on and fight. When they refused, I ran after them
and they likely tore out for their homes, screaming. The parents of the boys rushed into
the streets and threatened me, and for the first time in my life I shouted at grown-ups,
telling them that I would give them the same and went to the store. On my way back I
kept my stick poised for instant use, but there was not a single boy in sight. That night I
won the right to the streets of Memphis.